


Turmoil

by FenHarelMaGhilana (WhitethornWolf)



Series: Fortune Favour Me [3]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-18
Updated: 2012-09-18
Packaged: 2017-11-14 12:32:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/515272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhitethornWolf/pseuds/FenHarelMaGhilana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which magic rules over man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Turmoil

After hours of fighting mindless corpses, finding a blood mage of all things in the dungeons, and fending off nameless horrors with little more than a handful of knights, Eilin had thought there was nothing stranger Redcliffe could throw her way.

Apparently not.

"Connor! Connor!"

Isolde's voice rose in pitch as she dropped to her knees beside her son. The boy was unconscious, a bruise already swelling at his temple.

It was the only way to stop the chaos that erupted in the main hall after she'd arrived, and she tried to ignore the guilt churning her stomach at the sight of Connor's pale face. It was better than taking a sword to him. She would avoid that outcome for as long as she could, but looking out over the hall and the carnage he had caused, it was looking more and more likely.

More guards arrived, and set to clearing the hall and removing the bodies of their fellows. Many were wounded, and some were dead - a loss Eilin felt as regret in the pit of her stomach. There was already too much death here; the entire castle stank with the smell of fear and blood, and the tingle of magic crawled over her skin.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Bann Teagan sitting with his head in his hands, and she went to him, waving away the servant who knelt by his side.

"How do you feel?" she murmured.

"Better...now that my mind is my own again."

Eilin pulled her dirk from its sheath.

"Relax," she said as he eyed her warily. "I'm not going to stab you."

"That's...comforting to know." He winced as she cut his tunic and began to peel the material away from his wounds. "How is Connor?"

"Lady Isolde tends to him."

"He is not - "

"He's not seriously injured," she interrupted. "He'll have a bruise or two, but nothing more." Her face was grim as she wiped her hands on a cloth, then began to apply a poultice to the wounds. Teagan was quiet, but she noticed the stiffness in his shoulders and did her best to be gentle.

"You're injured."

Eilin shrugged, grimacing when the movement sent twinges of pain through her. "It's nothing." She secured the bandages and helped him to his feet. "You'll want to see a healer about those injuries. I'm more used to patching people up on the run, as it were."

"You have my thanks," Teagan said, "but you really should have seen to your own hurts first. Or at least have my men treat you."

"I'm not made of porcelain," she replied through gritted teeth, then grimaced when his eyebrows raised. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. It's not even my blood. Mostly."

Isolde approached them on the dais, wringing a handkerchief between her hands. She was pale, and her blonde hair curled in messy tendrils around her tear-streaked face.

"Teagan, oh-what a fool I've been."

 _At least you and I can agree on something_ , Eilin thought, then immediately felt ashamed; this was no time to be petty. She stayed silent, soaking the cloths she'd used in a bowl of water the servant had left behind, and busying herself with cleaning the blood and elfroot paste off her hands.

"There must be a way to save Connor," Isolde said falteringly. "He's not responsible for this. He just wanted to help his father."

"So he made a deal with a demon?" EIlin interrupted, before she could stop herself. "Demons are dangerous and unpredictable, Lady Isolde. Even I know that. There is a reason children with magical talent are sent to the Circle - because this is what happens when you don't!"

"I…" Isolde's face crumpled and tears welled in her eyes. "I just wanted to protect him."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Eilin stood up and cast a glance over the hall; at the pools of blood and the limping guards, and the moans of the wounded.

One boy and a deal with a demon had done this. She closed her eyes briefly and said a silent prayer for strength and wisdom. She was going to need both in abundance.


End file.
